 "Day, me say day-o. Daylight come and me wan' go home."
This song, popular and familiar to the ears of Caribbean and international people alike, was an instant Harry Belafonte hit back in the 1950's. In fact, this Belafonte album entitled "Calypso" went on to become the first album ever in the United States to sell one million copies, and a young man by the name of Irving Burgie, the son of an emigrated Barbadian woman to New York, was the author and composer of eight of the album's hits, including "Day-O".
"I had no idea that the "Calypso" album would have been so successful. Nobody did!" says Burgie, who still lives in New York but returns to Barbados at least 3 times a year. "You see," he continues, "it had never been done. We had no idea it could ever go that high." The album stayed at the top of the Billboard charts for a sensational 36 weeks, and remained on the chart itself for more than a year.
Irving Burgie went on to write another twenty-eight songs for Belafonte, and in 1966 wrote the lyrics for the National Anthem of Barbados.
His love for Caribbean music was nurtured by his mother, Viola, and encouraged by the Caribbean immigrant community of his youth in Brooklyn, New York. However, it wasn't until his enlistment in the US-Army in the 1940's that Irving Burgie seriously followed his musical interest. At that time he was inspired by the music of an alto saxophone in his troop, and this encouraged him to study music theory.
After serving for many years in China, Burma, and India, Burgie continued his formal studies at the famous Julliard School of Music; the University of Arizona; and the University of Southern California. He adopted the stage name of "Lord Burgess" and became a folksinger, performing on stages between New York and Chicago.
Following his tremendous successes with Belafonte, Burgie went on to travel the world as a songwriter, teacher, and folksinger, with many of his songs reflecting the simple joys of an island life and its people.
Irving Burgie's songs to date have sold on over 100 million records around the world, and they have been performed in an amazing 6 languages:- English, French, Spanish, German, Italian, and Hebrew.
In 1989, Irving Burgie received an Honourary Doctor of Letters degree from the University of the West Indies.
Today, Irving Burgie continues to give back to his island home by sponsoring the Irving Burgie Award for Excellence in Literary and/or Creative Arts for high school students, a scholarship first founded in 1980. Burgie has always believed in the saying "a new day is coming every day". In fact, he has lived by these words of opportunity and hope and, through his scholarship, he is encouraging others to do so too.
Article written in 2005 and compliments of "Ins and Outs of Barbados" Magazine
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